Luke 2:52

Our latest display is based off of an important part of our college’s mission statement.

Inspiration: We are a Christian college and our college takes its core competencies from Luke 2:52 – “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” The four competencies are:

Intellectual – Wisdom

Physical – Stature

Spiritual – Favor with God

Social – Favor with men

This was a good way for the library to help support the mission of the college, by highlighting books in the collection that deal with the particular skills we would like to instill in our students.

Book Selection: I took keywords like “wisdom,” “leadership,” “fitness,” and plugged them into our catalog. I pulled books in all of these categories (more than I needed) and picked the ones that looked the most recent, the most classic, or the ones that got the point across the best from their front covers.

Here is a list of the titles I’m using in the display:

Growing Slowly Wise: Building a Faith that Works by David Roper

Habits of the Mind: Intellectual Life as a Christian Calling by James W. Sire

Recreation and Sports Ministry: Impacting Postmodern Culture by John Garner

The Official Gold’s Gym Beginner’s Guide to Fitness by David Porter

Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World by Henri J.M. Nouwen

Drawing Closer: A Step-By-Step Guide to Intimacy with God by Glen Martin and Dian Ginter

Be Holy by Warren Wiersbe

Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life by Henri J.M. Nouwen

Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth by Richard J. Foster

The Power of Servant Leadership by Robert K. Greenleaf

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

The Serving Leader: 5 Powerful Actions that Will Transform Your Team, Your Business, and Your Community by Ken Jennings and John Stahl-Wert

The Book on Leadership by John MacArthur

The World’s Most Powerful Leadership Principle: How to Become a Servant Leader by James C. Hunter

Creating the Actual Display: This was an easy one. I printed out the verse on a few different pages, highlighting the words I wanted the display to focus on. I used clear acrylic sign holders, book stands, and a clear acrylic riser. I was going to use more risers for the signs, but then I realized that some of the extra books would add more color and interest to the display.

Cost for the Entire Display: This is debatable. I didn’t buy anything for this display. However, when I was planning for it, I found that our collection was lacking in (current) physical fitness books, and that our copy of How to Win Friends and Influence People was from the 1930s and in very used condition. Our acquisitions librarian bought some updated books. These were books that should have been bought regardless of if the display was going up or not. In this case, doing this display helped with our weeding and acquisitions process.